Research Seminar Series presents:
Loneliness and social support during the transition to adulthood:
Impact on mental health and help-seeking behaviors
Tuesday, February 15
2pm-3pm via Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting
https://stonybrook.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 930 4642 5421 Passcode: 266693
Loneliness is recognized as a growing public health epidemic among young adults and has been increasing in prevalence since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Chronic loneliness among young people can lead to significant physical, social, and emotional impairments (e.g., depression, substance misuse), which if left untreated, can extend well into adulthood.
Yet, loneliness research has focused primarily on older adult populations. Young people’s exposure to adverse experiences such as anti-immigrant sentiments, poverty, and a global pandemic can all erode social support, increase one’s risk for isolation, and decrease the capacity to utilize social networks. More research is warranted to better understand the social relationships of young adults, particularly the effects of loneliness on young people’s mental health and help-seeking behaviors, especially as they transition into the workforce and explore interpersonal relationships. This presentation will highlight findings from two studies on young people’s experiences of loneliness. In the first study, a subsample of 307 young adults were drawn from an online, cross-sectional, general population survey to assess whether loneliness and social support are associated with mental health service use and mental health symptoms (psychological distress and suicidal ideation). Experiencing loneliness was found to predict significantly higher levels of psychological distress (B = 3.76, p<.001) and over four times the odds of past-year suicidal ideation (OR = 4.61, 95% CI = 2.46–8.63). Mental health service use was more common among young adults reporting increased levels of social support (OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.36–2.99). In the second study, focus groups were conducted to better understand the unique experiences of loneliness and social isolation of migrant youth and young adults from the perspective of community gatekeepers (e.g., from social service organizations, local health agencies, educators) supporting this underserved population of young people. There was consensus that the experience of migration itself to the United States facilitated social isolation for migrant youth. Tensions between professional mandates and protections for migrant youth clients and barriers to supportive services including mental health and health services were major themes discussed across groups. The significant associations between loneliness, social support, and mental health symptoms found across the studies, reveal the importance of developing interventions to prevent and reduce loneliness among young adults.
